Pinotage is one of those "love it or hate it" kind of wines, sort of a diamond in the rough that's not really meant to be polished. It can have funky aromas and flavors ranging from smoked meat, to rubber tires, to nail polish. But with the right grape growing and winemaking skills, these unusual components can be interesting and attractive attributes.
I've always been in the "love it" camp when it comes to Pinotage, but then again, I like funky flavors in wine. The PR firm representing Golden Kaan winery recently sent me a sample bottle of their Pinotage. I remember trying it a few years ago, and thinking that it was a decent economy-priced introduction to the grape.
This time around, I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. The wine was pleasant enough, and easy drinking, but that was the problem. I didn't really taste the varietal character of Pinotage--this wine was more like a mass-produced Shiraz. The amount of sugar that was left in the wine even made me draw a comparison to the made-for-the-American-market Yellow Tail. Don't get me wrong--it wasn't a bad wine, and for $8-$10 a bottle, it's certainly quaffable. It just didn't scream "Pinotage" to me.
Posts
1 comment:
Interesting. I've only tasted Golden Kaan Pinotage once and it was an OK fruit forward wine. (it is made by KWV originally for the German market)
You shouldn't be getting nail varnish in Pinotage anymore -- it was a winemaking fault that they've nailed.
So what is the varietal characteristic of Pinotage? That is the question that I've asked, that Neil Pendock is asking while judging this years Top 10 -- see http://blogs.thetimes.co.za/pendock/2007/09/12/absa-top-ten-pinotage-competition-second-day-of-judging/
Is it Diemersfonteins cult 'coffee & chocolate' Pinotage, Kanonkops heavily wooded wine, or Simonsigs unwooded -- or indeed Golden Kaan's?
For me it is the very differences in the interpretation of the variety that first attracted me and excites me still today.
I've written elsewhere that one cannot understand Pinotage if you've only tasted SA Pinotages.
Post a Comment